Christmas With James
by mycatjake
Summary: Lily is forced to spend the Winter Holidays with her sworn enemy, James Potter. Will they love or kill each other?
1. We Need To Talk

Disclaimer: If I owned any of this, I would be very, very rich.

A/N: I had all these crazy little people running around in my head one night, and this is what happened when I put my pen to the paper. It's a little misconstrued for lack of brain power late at night, so forgive some of the mistakes. Now, enjoy! Don't forget to R&R!

****

Chapter 1:

"We Need To Talk"

Lily Evans flicked her eyes from the large, leather-bound book to the long scroll of parchment that was laid out before her on the polished wooden table in the chattery Gryffindor Common Room. A hint of a smile played on her lips as she added her final period to the concluding paragraph of her Potions essay. She dropped her quill down with slight satisfaction as she admired the two meters of parchment. Four days before the winter hols, and she'd finished her Potions essay. Score!

Not only was Lily extremely pleased with herself for this achievement, but she was also, for the first time since she'd started at Hogwarts, staying away from her family for Christmas. No annoying Petunia, no mother nagging at her to "smooth the wrinkles from her skirt." It would be just her, all alone and peaceful, without anyone to disturb her.

In fact, Lily wasn't one bit upset that Petunia hadn't invited her on the vacation she was taking the rest of the family on. It was to be some trip to the tropics, courtesy of Petunia's new boyfriend, Vernon. Lily had never met the man, but she assumed he was just as obnoxious and ugly as the past blokes Petunia had brought home. What was Christmas without snow, anyway?

Lily looked back down at her parchment and smiled again before cleaning the tip of her quill and rolling her finished parchment neatly up into a scroll. She was almost too immersed in her ecstasy about the winter holidays that she barely noticed the chair across from her sliding backwards and someone sitting down.

"We need to talk."

Lily, surprised at the sudden voice, looked up quickly, a smile still resting on her lips. Before her stat the one and only James Potter. His hair was as black and haphazardly set as always, and his bespectacled hazel eyes stared at her seriously. James Potter, serious? Lily almost frowned. Almost. She was far too happy to let him ruin everything for her.

"Tell me Potter, why would we need to talk? We've never had a reason before so I don't see why we should start now," Lily quipped light-heartedly, gathering her books and spare parchment happily.

"Very funny, Evans. I'm serious. Its about this." James lifted a bit of folded parchment and dangled it before her face. Lily raised a judgmental eyebrow and looked from the paper to James's serious face. Was this supposed to be some sort of trick?

"I'm not falling for it this time, James. Now I suggest you take that smirk elsewhere because I would like to get a bit of rest," Lily said, frowning. She gathered her books into her arms and straightened, ready to climb the stairs to her dormitory, where her nice, cozy bed was waiting. Lily looked up to see the parchment was dangling before her. "Do you mind?" She asked, stepping sideways. He moved in front of her.

"This is no joke, Evans," James said, frowning. "Read it."

"No!" Lily attempted to duck past him, but he was far too quick and agile for a girl weighed down by several books. She took deep, cleansing breaths. She would not let James Potter ruin her vacation. Oh, no…

"Read it!"

"FINE!" Lily slammed her books down on the table and snatched the parchment quickly from his fingertips, her anger getting the best of her. She skimmed the page quickly, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Please tell me why I care if your Mum won first place in the Christmas Pie Contest?" Lily asked sarcastically, shoving the page back at James, who turned slightly pink. He pushed it back into her hands. She was ready to scream at the stupid, son-of-a-

"Not that! Closer to the bottom of the page!"

Lily sighed heavily and reluctantly skimmed the last paragraph of the neat cursive on the page:

_"We are also delighted to inform you that we will have a special guest staying with us over winter break. I assume you are familiar with Lily Evans? We've_

graciously accepted her to stay with us after a very polite request from her

parents…"

Lily didn't even finish. She took the paper and ripped it into pieces, her face burning. What kind of sick joke was he pulling this time? Her parents had never even heard of James Potter, let alone request that she spend her hols with him! There was no way this could be true! Lily narrowed her eyes dangerously at James, who, naturally, returned the gesture.

"I _swear!_ The things you and your _blasted _marauders come up with -!" Lily exclaimed, jabbing him hard in the chest. "Are you personally trying to ruin my holiday, Potter? Cause if you are, you'll find that you'll be quite sorry -"

"Honestly, you think I'd make this up? What would be my motive, Evans? And they made you _Head Girl!" _James spat at her quickly. But Lily didn't care how truthful he sounded, she still wouldn't fall victim to another of James Potter's cruel pranks!

"I don't know how your strange mind works! You could have some sick idea of getting me in your bed like every other girl you've fancied -"

"You think I'd waste my time fancying you, Evans?" James growled, an angry smirk on his face.

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it in fifth year -"

"Newsflash, I could care less about you, as that pathetic part of my life has _passed._ Now, would you kindly explain how your parents got in touch with mine?"

"How would I know?" Lily exclaimed, again picking up her books and shoving past him in the direction of the staircase to the Girls' Dormitories. "Now, would you please let me go to sleep? Maybe when I wake up tomorrow, this will have all been a dream."

"I doubt it," she heard James mutter sarcastically. Lily frowned and chose to ignore this, then climbed the staircase grudgingly, whispering under her breath about how annoying James Potter was.

__

Look how beautiful it is outside! Lily thought depressingly, as she stopped in the middle of the staircase to gaze out of the window. The ground was covered in a blanket of white, and from the sky fell luscious, glittering crystals. Lily frowned yet again. It was far too beautiful for James to be bringing such terrible news upon her.

Taking a deep breath, she silently resolved the issue. James was lying. There was nothing more to it. Lily pushed the thick door open to her dormitory and stepped quietly inside, hearing the door click softly behind her. The room was almost silent, as a few girls were asleep already. A single candle flickered on the bedside table of her good friend, Autumn, whom Lily could see was still awake reading.

Lily set her books down on top of her trunk and padded over to Autumn's bed. Autumn was bent over yet another thick book, her loose chestnut curls tumbling over her shoulders to her mid-back. Her gray eyes moved back and forth across the page hungrily as she reached to flip another page. Her lips were a thin, pale pink color, and light freckles dotted her cheek bones.

"Good book?" Lily whispered with a smile, climbing on to the bed with her friend. Autumn looked up at her and smiled.

"Quite good. And how is my Lily?" Autumn asked, placing a reassuring arm around Lily's shoulders and squeezing them gently. Lily smiled.

"James is trying to tell me I have to go to his house for the winter hols," Lily replied with a small laugh.

"I thought he'd given up on that ages ago," Autumn said, sliding a ribbon down the page to mark her spot and clamping the book shut, looking thoughtful.

"Me too," Lily said with a reminiscent smile of how silly James had been a few years ago. Silly, yet still annoying and incredibly cocky.

Autumn laughed and asked in a fake love-sick male's voice, "_Lily flower, will you go out with me?"_

"I'd rather go on a date with the Giant Squid!" Lily and Autumn said together, then burst into a fit of giggles.

"Hush you two," came a groggy, annoyed voice from the next bed over. They laughed again, quietly this time, an Lily climbed off the bed to her trunk.

"I should go to sleep," Lily said with a yawn.

"That reminds me, you've got a letter, I put it on your nightstand," Autumn said, before pulling her red velvet curtains closed around her.

Lily furrowed her eyebrows as her gaze fell upon the letter laying next to her bed, lighted by the moonlight streaming through the window. She tip-toed over and picked it up gingerly. From the neat print on the front of the envelope, Lily could already tell it was from her mother. A guilty pit of butterflies bubbled up in her stomach uncomfortably.

She slid a shaky finger across the top of the envelope and pulled out the neat letter. Lily skimmed across it quickly, only really taking in the last few sentences, her heart beating like a thousand elephants in her chest.

"**We didn't want you alone at Hogwarts, so we took the courtesy to ask the**

Potter's to take you in. You should really thank Petunia for it, though! She

was so sweet as to remember your good friend James; she says you talk about

him all the time! She just wanted to make sure you weren't lonely on

Christmas, wasn't that nice of her? Well have a Happy Christmas, my

flower.

"Love, Mum and Dad"

Lily resisted the urge to ball up her paper and throw it at the mirror with all her might. Petunia? Sweet? She was a fecking hypocrite! Lily had never bought the excuse about there not being enough room at the hotel (and it didn't bother her, either); but now Petunia had gone and done this! How did she know about James, anyway?

Lily's diary! Lily cracked her knuckles angrily. She'd never written a good word about James in there; that bitch! Lily grumbled to herself as she slipped her shirt over her head. She was _not_ going to James's this Christmas. She would not, and no would could make her!

Don't forget to review!


	2. No Way

A/N: Sorry if I'm not the quickest updater, I hand write all my chapters and _then_ I type them, so it takes a while. This chapter was going to have another part to it, but seeing as it was pretty long handwritten, I decided to end it where I did (Sirius had a lot to say and somehow her cat got a lot of attention). Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, I really wasn't expecting it! And for the record, I wrote this chapter in pretty pink pen. Haha. Merry Christmas (belated).

****

Chapter 2:

No Way

Lily Evans sat up in her bed quickly; the sun that spilled through the windows burned her eyes. She threw her blankets off of her; she was sweating particularly hard from the reoccurring dreams she'd been having the past few days about being trapped with James Potter for the rest of her life! She reached over and took a sip of the nice, refreshing water on her nightstand. Her heart beat heavily. _Calm down, _she told herself, taking deep breaths.

Lily stretched slowly, glancing at the calendar on the wall. It read: "Today is Saturday, December 20th." Her eyes grew large. December 20th! That meant she'd be leaving for James's house… tomorrow!

"I am _not_ going to James Potter's house!" She cried angrily, causing her cat, Truffles, to give an annoyed yowl and dive underneath her bed. She heard some muffled noises from Autumn's bed as she threw her trunk open and searched for some clean clothes. "I will not! There is no way!_ Absolutely_ no way…"

"Lily, if you don't want to go that badly, go talk to Professor McGonagall about it, but don't torture us because of it," a groggy voice croaked from behind the curtains. Lily smiled immediately. Of course! Why hadn't she thought of this before? A mischievous grin spread across her face.

She pulled on her robes as quickly as possible, and kissed Truffles gently on his pink nose before gliding down the stairs happily, humming to herself.

What a beautiful day it was! The sun was shining, the birds were singing! Everything in the Gryffindor Common Room seemed to greet her with a glowing warmth. She made an eager point to smile and wave for everyone in the room who was reading or chatting softly. She couldn't possibly be in a better mood if she'd been told that Petunia was moving out - and would never be seen again.

Lily exited the portrait hole, whistling now, rather than humming. She was in such a state of bliss, however, that she did not notice the arm of a rather good-looking, dark-haired boy slide around her shoulders, his gray eyes shining in a cunning manner.

"Happy are we, Evans?" He asked, a cocky smile plastered on his face. "Maybe because you'll be staying with Prongsey and I over the winter hols? Oh, we'll have a good time, you and I. Just imagine, toasting marshmallows by the warm fire, singing Christmas carols -"

"Black!" Lily said suddenly, looking over at the handsome boy beside her.

"The one and only!" Sirius winked and slid his arm off of her slim shoulders.

"I'll have you know, Mr. Black, that I will not be going to Potter's house this holiday," Lily said happily, not caring that she was walking with her rival's best friend.

"But we will so miss you!" Sirius exclaimed in mock agony. Lily smirked at this. She was pretty sure they'd both celebrate… Wait…

"_You're _going to Potter's?" Lily demanded, pausing before the entrance to Professor McGonagall's office. There was no _way_ she could go to James's if Sirius would be there! The stupid, cocky, immature jerk!

"Oh, Lily dearest, did James forget to mention something?" Sirius asked slyly, a grin plastered on his face. Lily stared for a moment, blinking stupidly at him, before he leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "I live there."

"Oh, no!" Lily protested, beginning to massage her temples. There was no way she'd stay with Sirius Black!

"Oh, yes," Sirius said with a laugh. He was obviously entertained by Lily's reaction to hs news.

"Oh, no!"

"Oh, _yeeeeeeeeeees._"

"Shut up, Black, I have to go see Professor McGonagall," Lily said quickly, grabbing the handle of the door. The metal was cold and unwelcoming. "You can tell James that I will _not_ be coming to his house under _any_ circumstances."

"Not even if your parents died and you had nowhere else to go?" Sirius asked cheekily.

"No."

"Even if… it was the only shelter from Death Eaters within a hundred miles?" Sirius inquired.

"I'd survive."

"What about if it was just you and James left on this earth and it depended soley on you two to repopulate it?"

"NO BLACK! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Lily exclaimed, gripping the handle to McGonagalls' office so hard she feared it would come off in her hand.

"As you wish, O Cranky One," Sirius said with a bow. "And Evans?"

"_What?"_

"Your hair smells nice."

"_Leave." _Lily took a deep breath, her grip loosening on the door handle. She had to be calm and mature about this, or McGonagall would never listen to her. Lily smoothed her robes and ran her fingers through her hair, wondering, exactly, if it did smell nice. Finally, she got the nerve to open the door.

"Miss Evans," Professor McGonagall said cordially, stacking the papers on her desk at the sight of the red-headed Head Girl.

"I was wondering if I might speak with you," Lily said quietly. She knew that Professor McGonagall was very strict, and she'd have to go about this very carefully if she wanted to get out of staying with James and Sirius. She shuddered at just the thought.

"Have a seat, Lily. I think I know what this is about," Professor McGonagall said, folding her hands on her desk, which, Lily noticed, was very organized.

"Yes, Professor. As you may know, I have a lot of work this holiday and I will hardly be able to get it done if I live with Sirius and James for two weeks," Lily began calmly. "Besides, my parents had the complete wrong idea here. You see, Petunia told them I was good friends with James, when she knows I'm not. Petunia and I aren't very popular with one-anther."

Professor McGonagall sighed deeply before saying to Lily, "I can greatly understand the reason staying with Mr. Potter and Mr. Black could be a bit distracting. However, I am not allowed to give you permission to stay. It was you parents wishes that you stay with Mr. Potter and I am in no place to go against them."

Lily's face fell. Did she honestly think that Professor McGonagall would let her stay here with her parents wanting her to go? Lily _almost_ wanted to cry. She _almost_ wanted to open McGonagall's window and dive out into the snow. She would rather freeze to death than be annoyed by James and Sirius. Why couldn't Remus live with James? Remus was the best one! She would much rather spend her time with him.

"But Professor -" Lily began to protest, but McGonagall stood from her chair and raised a finger to silence her. Lily watched as the moved to the window, her emerald robes swishing softly.

"Lily, I hate to send you somewhere against your own will. But," Professor McGonagall turned to face her, "for some reason Professor Dumbledore believes it would be for the best."

"_What?_" Lily exclaimed, standing abruptly from her chair in frustration. "There is no way I could possibly benefit from two weeks with Arrogant and Prat," Lily said through gritted teeth.

"Watch your language, Miss Evans," Professor McGonagall instructed curtly. "Now, I cannot tell you what is running through that man's head but I _can _say that you _will_ be saying with Potter this holiday and there will be _no_ way around it."

Lily looked down at the Professor's desk morbidly. On one side, rolls of parchment where piled neatly. In the middle, a stack of clean parchment, and next to it lay her quill. Lily wanted to pick it up and stab her with it. She could feel her disappointment being quickly replaced by anger.

"Shouldn't you be getting to breakfast, Miss Evans?" Professor McGonagall asked tentatively, pulling out her chair and taking a seat behind her desk once more.

"Yes, but I'm not hungry," Lily replied spitefully, turning and moving swiftly towards tehd oor. That old man was off of his rocker. There would be _no _benefit in living with James - whatsoever.

"Miss Evans?"

Lily turned quickly, attempting to force her face into a passive, downtrodden expression.

"Is there anything else that I may help you with?"

Lily shook her head and exited the room into the empty corridor. All over the school there were signs of Christmas cheer. Mistletoe here, some holly there. Lily, personally hated seeing couples kissing happily beneath the mistletoe. It reminded her of how she hadn't dated anyone since the summer before sixth year. And he had been a muggle. God help her.

The corridors were, for the most part, empty. Everyone was in the Great Hall, enjoying their breakfast. Lily smirked and veered away from the large room. She wasn't in the mood for food. She wasn't in the mood for life, as a matter of fact. Absentmindedly, Lily found herself climbing the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower. If she absolutely had to go, she should probably start packing.

Lily muttered the password and climbed blindly through the portrait hole. Upon entering the Common Room, she found that she was not the only one skipping breakfast. Lily's breath caught in her throat and she stopped dead in her tracks.

James was seated in the chair next to the fire, his legs curled beneath him as he bent over a book, his quill poised in one hand. She watched as he raised the other hand to ruffle his hair thoughtfully. She wanted to scream. She absolutely _hated _it when he did that. She narrowed her eyes viciously and walked determinedly (but not quietly) to the staircase.

"Morning, Evans," James's voice said. She spun around to glare at him for speaking, but he hadn't looked up from his book. This made her even more angry. Why wouldn't he face her?

"Potter," Lily spat, before rushing up the stairs less-than-gracefully, entering her dormitory, and slamming the door loudly behind her. What gave him the right to be _nice?_

Lily walked over to her bed where Truffles was laying, curled up and purring sweetly. She scooped him up in her arms, kissing his soft, brown fur on the top of his head. He opened his eyes and mewed affectionately at her.

Truffles was, by far, the sweetest cat in the world. She'd gotten him when she was twelve, and had called him Truffles because all of him was a chocolatey brown, except underneath, where he was pure white. Lily stroked his fur for a minute while she looked around the room. Tonight would be her last night here for two weeks. How depressing.

As her eyes passed over her bed, she caught sight of a piece of rolled parchment that was tied neatly together by a gold ribbon. She set Truffles down gently and reached for it, wondering who's handiwork could have tied a bow so neatly. She slid it off gently and unrolled the parchment. A slightly untidy scrawl greeted her.

"**Evans -**

Meet me tomorrow morning at Eight A.M.

Sharp. We need to get the train to my house.

Don't be late.

-James"

Lily did spare the time to ball this letter and throw it at the wall. Just because she was going to his house he thought he was the boss. No fucking way.

She threw her trunk open and began tossing everything she'd need inside. Truffles let out a meow from the bed, his green eyes smiling.

"You're not getting out of this, Truffles," she said sternly. "I need someone to keep me company. Or sane."

He mewed again and Lily continued to pack, every movement becoming more frustrated.

Please review!


	3. Potter's House

A/N: I've gotten a lot of reviews saying they've heard this idea before, and I can honestly say that **I never attempted to copy anything**, and I have **never read anything like it**, so please don't send me anything saying I've copied anyone's work…

With that done, I'd like to say that this chapter might not be as good as it could have been because I wanted to update before I go back to hell (school), but anyway, here it is.

* * *

****

Chapter 3:

Potter's House

Lily awoke the next morning, but not the way she would have liked. No, it was not the chirping of the birds or the beautiful sunshine. It was the Awakening Charm she'd set on herself the night before so that she could avoid an argument with James if she'd happened to be late. And she was far too tired to think about dealing with him, of all people.

Lily blinked a few times, fighting the sleep that was threatening to engulf her. She sat up, shaking her head slightly. She had not slept well the night before. She'd been lying awake, dreading this moment. As much as she would have liked delaying it, she knew she couldn't. You can't delay fate, and she knew it. The only thing she didn't understand was why in bloody hell fate would want her to suffer at James Potter's house for two full weeks.

She pulled her covers off and slid her feet regretfully down towards the cold, stone floor. Lily winced slightly as her warm feet instantly froze, and looked out the window. It was a terribly bleak, gray day. Funny how it reflected her mood. But then again, whenever it was cloudy out, she always was in a terrible mood, and she never fully understood it.

Lily showered and dressed as quickly as she could. She brushed her teeth and combed her hair, not fully aware of why she need to look nice. Or maybe she was trying to put off meeting Potter. Yes, that was definitely it.

She walked back to the dormitory, a frowning. She wouldn't be back here for two weeks. Bloody Potter.

"Lily dear, were you going to leave without saying goodbye?" Lily turned to se Autumn sitting up in her bed, smiling. Lily grinned at her.

"Of course I wasn't!" she exclaimed, hurrying over to hug Autumn. "I would rather I wasn't going at all…"

"And don't I know it," Autumn said with a subtle smirk. Lily pushed her playfully. She was really looking forward to spending Christmas with Autumn this year. Lily forced down the anger she was feeling and smiled at her friend. Autumn smiled back, and said, "Well at least he's not all over you anymore! I mean, how long has it been since he's asked you out?"

Lily stopped smiling. How long _had_ it been? A month? More? Lily couldn't remember if she'd bothered her at all this year - other than being a cocky git, that is. Maybe he really _had_ stopped liking her. Oh, thank the glorious heavens above!

"I don't know," Lily said in response to her friend's question. There was an awkward silence between the two, while Autumn leaned over the side of the bed, only to emerge with a beautifully-wrapped present.

"This," Autumn said, pointing at the package, "is your Christmas present. And you are not to open it until Christmas. Mark my words, Evans. There's a charm on it to make sure."

"Aww, Autumn, why wouldn't I wait?" Lily said with a laugh, remembering the past few early presents she'd gotten… and opened. She just couldn't help it; she couldn't wait.

"I know you too well, Lily," Autumn said as Lily tucked the present in her trunk, nestling it safely in her sweaters. "Lily you should be going - look at the clock!"

Lily glanced at the clock on her nightstand. 7:55! Oh, great. Just when she was happy, she had to be reminded of James Potter in the Common Room, waiting to take her to her doom. Wait, he was her doom. Either way, he was going to make her suffer. Incredibly. Lily almost wanted to cry.

"You're right," Lily said with great disdain in her voice. She swiftly latched her trunk and pulled Truffles' carrier out from under the bed. He mewed up at her, as if to say he was staying there, but Lily would not hear of it. "You're coming, Truffles, whether you like it or not."

He obeyed ungratefully and Lily clicked the door shut behind him. Meanwhile, Autumn was on her bed, giggling quietly behind her hand.

"_What?_" Lily asked, an eyebrow raised at her almost hysterical friend.

"You talk to your cat. That's all," Autumn said, the corners of her mouth twitching.

"Yeah, so," Lily said, looking down at the box where Truffles was settling down. Was talking to Truffles really that weird?

"It's just a tad bit… odd, but don't worry about it," Autumn said, a smile still on her lips.

"Right," Lily said awkwardly, smoothing her shirt and wondering how many people thought it was weird that she spoke to Truffles that way. He just seemed to listen well. Lily glanced at the clock. "Well, I should be off. I'll see you in two weeks."

"Bye, _Lily flower,_" Autumn said with a laugh.

Lily paused by the door long enough to throw a glare at Autumn before exiting the room dramatically. She stopped outside to button up her cloak, and dragged her luggage down the stairs to the common room. It was empty. How _dare_ he send her that note and have the nerve to go ahead and be late himself!

"Right on time, Evans,"

Lily jumped at the sound of James's voice. Her eyes darted around the room and rested on the couch before the fire, where a messy, black-haired head had risen above the back of the seat. He sat up and smirked at her.

"You," Lily said accusingly, just realizing she had her wand pointed at his chest. James rose, stretching his tall, graceful figure and walked over to her.

"Yes, me," he said with a mocking smile. He looked down at her wand, an eyebrow raised. "What are you going to do, hex me?"

"Actually, I hadn't thought about it before, but now it doesn't seem like such a bad idea," Lily said defensively, taking a step closer.

James just chuckled and ruffled his hair before calling rather loudly up the stairwell, "Padfoot! Get your arse down here! We're going to be late!"

"Oh, that's rich," Lily said, slipping her wand back inside her robes, "Black can be late, but I'm not allowed -"

"Evans, Black is late for everything. There is no telling him not to be," James said through gritted teeth before moving again to the stairwell and shouting, "Padfoot! Don't make me come up there!"

"Oy, Prongs, shut up!" Sirius grumbled, emerging from the stairwell and poking his friend in the head with the end of his wand. Lily crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Can we get a move on, _please_?" Lily begged, glaring at the two boys.

"Anxious to get to Potter's, are we?" Sirius asked, a mischievous smile on his face. Lily felt the heat rise in her neck, and she whipped out her wand.

"Say that one more time -" Lily spat through gritted teeth.

"Now, now, let's not get testy," James interrupted sarcastically, pushing down Lily's extended arm. She put her wand away and grabbed hold of the trunk and Truffles' carrier. "Come on, we don't want to be late."

Lily followed a few steps behind the two boys, utterly dreading what was to come.

--  
The train ride had been quite uneventful. She'd pulled out a book and read peacefully as the two boys joked, ranted, and even debated girls in her presence. But for once, it didn't bother her. Somehow, the lull of the train, the beautiful scenery of the countryside, and the sensitivity (or pure mush) of the romance novel she was reading put her in an almost blissful, trancelike state.

It was when they arrived at the train station that she'd been surprised. James's parents hadn't been there to pick them up, and he'd dismissed it saying that they were very busy working. So, instead, James hailed a taxi in the London rain, and they'd all squished inside, James of course in the middle, trying to keep Lily from going at Black. But, Lily had to admit, the ride wasn't too awful. James and Sirius had ended up asleep on each other's shoulders.

Lily blinked twice as the taxi stopped suddenly at the beginning of a dirt road. It was at that moment that she finally realized she was no longer in the city, but surrounded by rolling, white (from snow), countryside. It would have been beautiful; if it hadn't been pouring outside.

Why had they stopped?

"Thanks, we'll be off then," she heard James say, passing some money to the driver in front. He looked at her, then to the door handle. "Go on, Evans. Get out."

Lily was slightly angry at him for pushing her out into the rain. But mostly, she was confused. Why would they stop here? There wasn't a house in sight! She gaped at James as he urged her out of the car, then followed her to the back of the taxi, where Sirius was already unloading their luggage.

"What are we doing?" Lily inquired, pulling her cloak more tightly around her body as the taxi pulled away, it's tires slopping in the slushy road.

"We are walking," James said simply, dragging his trunk behind him. Lily followed, glaring at him. Leave it to Potter to make them walk in the rain!

"Why?" Lily demanded, pulling her hood over her head. She'd had no idea how hard it had been raining until she'd been made to _walk in it!_

"Because the taxi doesn't go any further than the beginning of this road," James replied curtly, not looking at her. The hair that had not been covered by the hood of his cloak was now sticking to his forehead, and streaks of rain were running down his glasses.

"Potter, just because I'm muggleborn does not mean I've never heard of the Knight Bus," Lily said sourly, hoping that Truffles wasn't getting too wet. He was bloody heavy.

"Are you daft, Evans?" James was looking at her now as if she was crazy. She heard Sirius chuckle quietly behind her. "My parents are Aurors, and you never know who could be riding that bus!"

"Oh," was all Lily could manage. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, James did have a point.

She continued to walk silently. They passed a few farmhouses, and she had to admit the scenery wasn't at all bad. The only really horrible thing was, however, that the rain had begun to leak through her cloak, and she was beginning to feel the wetness against her skin. If she got sick, she was blaming James. After all, he was the one who put her out in the middle of this horrible weather!

Lily was surprised that Sirius didn't walk much during the ride or while they were walking. It truly was out of his character to be so quiet. Lily dismissed this, because she didn't hardly mind him keeping his annoying mouth shut.

"So," Lily said, breaking the silence after a few minutes, "I'm surprised you're not taking Girlfriend Of The Week home with you." She looked up at James, smirking.

"Wow, you're right!" James said sarcastically. "If you hadn't noticed there was no Girlfriend Of The Week, or last week, or the week before, for that matter!"

Lily looked at James wide-eyed, not knowing exactly what to say. As a matter of fact, she really hadn't noticed him not handing around girls all the time. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd seen him walk a girl to class! What had happened to the Ladies' Man?

"It is kind of sad, isn't it?" Sirius piped up, causing both Lily and James to glare at him. "I'm sorry Prongs, but it's true." As Lily could see, Sirius chose his times to speak very carefully.

Lily was too busy getting over James's newfound singly status to notice that the two boys had stopped, and she walked right into James's back, receiving a mouthful of wet cloak.

"Ew," Lily said, scrunching her nose as she wiped her tongue off on her hand. "When was the last time you washed that?"

James just shrugged and said, "Well, this is it."

Lily looked up to the house in front of her. What she saw was hardly what she'd expected of a Potter house. It was an average, two-story farmhouse, with a thick red door and a golden knocker. Remnants of green ivy wove it's way across the white surface, and snow-topped hedges decorated the front. Lily couldn't help but let her jaw drop. Even though she could see James's family had a good amount of money, she'd thought they would have flaunted it more.

"Are you coming, Evans, or are you going to stand there in the rain?" James asked, an eyebrow raised. Lily frowned.

"Of course I'm coming!" Lily replied angrily, grabbing Truffles' carrier and her trunk and moving towards the door, which James unlocked, then held open as she stepped inside. Lily couldn't help but be again, surprised at his actions.

She stepped out of the way as Sirius and James followed her inside. The house was, indeed, very nice and homey. To her left was a comfortable living room, where a fire crackled softly in the fireplace, and soft Christmas music wafted into the hall. To her right was a spacious dining room, with a long, polished table and a formal chandelier.

She looked to James, who was unbuttoning the front of his cloak, and tossing it onto the coat rack beside the door.

"Your coat?" he asked, holding out a hand. His face was very genuine, and Lily could see that the rain had penetrated the shoulders of his shirt because it clung to his body. Not that she was looking at it, of course.

Lily quickly unbuttoned her cloak and handed it to him. He paused, looking at her softly for a moment, before hanging the piece of clothing on the rack. Why had he looked at her like that? Lily shuddered. James was now smiling at two people who were making their way down the stairs. Lily assumed these people to be James's parents.

Both looked to be quite happy. His mom had long, mahogany hair that was pulled into a loose bun at the nape of her neck. Her eyes were a honey color, tired but joyous. Lily watched as she ran over to her son and engulfed him in a tight hug, which (Lily was more than surprised) he returned.

James's father was a tall man, with hair almost as unruly as James, although it was speckled with flakes of gray. His eye were hazel, much like James's, and were hidden behind glasses. If his father were a bit younger, Lily probably would have mistaken them for brothers.

"Oh James! How are you?" his mom asked, her arms still holding him tightly around his neck.

"I'm good mum," James replied with a smile, kissing his mom lightly on her cheek and then moving to hug his dad. Lily felt a slight twinge of jealousy as she watched this, remembering the not-so-warm welcome she received from her sister every year, and how picky her mom always was when she saw her.

She shook her head slightly. She was not jealous of Potter's family!

"And you must be Lily!" James's mother had turned on Lily now, and took her by surprise with a large, welcoming hug. "Oh dear, you're soaked! We'll have James show you to your room so you can get changed - and by the way, you can call me Laura - James, come here. Show Lily where she'll be sleeping - and oh, this is my husband, Wilson -"

"- you can call me Will -"

"- now James will show you upstairs," Laura finished. "We'll worry about the more technical stuff later, like Sirius controlling himself when it comes to the refrigerator."

They all laughed, Lily included, as Sirius emerged from the dining area looking quite lost. In his hand, he held a newly-made sandwich.

"C'mon," James said, taking Lily's trunk and leading her up the stairs. Lily held Truffles' cage and followed him down a lighted hallway, where, at the end, a table sat, decorated with flowers. "This is your room," James said, gesturing to a room to her right, "Sirius and I are right across the hall."

Lily nodded and walked into the spacious room. A large, double bed sat in the middle of the opposite wall, neatly made with a bunch of pillows. There was a door to a bathroom, and a large chest of drawers on the wall for her to put her clothes. The carpet was plush and soft under her feet. She almost smiled. It was a beautiful room.

James shuffled past her and dropped the trunk by the end of her bed. Lily watched him silently, overwhelmed at the fact that James could be so… gentlemanly. What had happened to him? She blinked as he ruffled his hair, his hand on the door handle.

"I'll meet you downstairs when you're ready," James said, turning to leave.

"J- Potter," Lily stumbled, and he paused in the doorway, a questionable expression on his face. "N-never mind." Lily waved her hand as James closed the door behind him. Was she going to _thank_ him for helping her? Had hell frozen over? Lily pinched herself and blinked, only to find herself still standing in the middle of a guest room at James Potter's house.

Lily shrugged out of her wet clothing and pulled on clean, dry, clothes. This was going to be an interesting few weeks.

* * *

Sorry if that was a tad boring. Had some writer's block! If you have any ideas on what you'd like to happen, let me know, so I can incorporate them. I'm not exactly sure where this is going, so a little input could help.

And don't forget to review!


End file.
